A conventional remote control for a television (TV) includes a rectangular box, with buttons that are marked with symbols, such as the numerals "1", "2" . . . "0". A user touches one or more such buttons to switch the TV's display to a desired channel. For example, the user instructs the TV to display channel 5 by pressing a button labeled "5". However, the user performs several steps prior to the display: consults a TV guide, selects a desired program, remembers a channel number for the program, and enters the channel number on the remote control. Alternatively, the user presses a button labeled for example "CH+/-" to sequentially display each TV channel, until the user finds a desirable TV program.
Universal remote controls allow a user to control the operation of a video cassette player (VCR) in addition to the TV, e.g. to control a movie's retrieval by the VCR and display by the TV. However, the user again performs several steps prior to the display: reviews a list of available movies (for example by consulting an index in a movie rental store), selects and rents a desired movie's video tape, brings home and inserts the video tape into the VCR, tunes the TV to a predetermined channel, e.g. channel 3, and then presses a button labeled "PLAY" on the remote control.
A settop box available from VideoGuide, Inc., 209 Burlington Road, Bedford, Mass., 01730 (see the Web page at www.vgi.com on the Internet), displays on a user's TV a list of upcoming TV programs, and requires the user to press a button labeled "TV" to select one of the listed TV programs. See also the Web page at www.theGIST.com for another similar product.
A mouse and a keyboard for remotely controlling information displayed on a computer's monitor are also well known. The mouse and keyboard are more difficult to use than a TV remote control, because the user is required to be knowledgeable about computers. Specifically, the user must know computer instructions or be aware of the need to press, e.g., a left button of the mouse while a cursor is positioned on an icon.